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Taking to the Streets to Help Homelesshttps://caljournalism2.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/feature-story/
https://caljournalism2.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/feature-story/#respondWed, 11 May 2011 23:18:35 +0000http://caljournalism2.wordpress.com/?p=346

Galen Sisco in Miami

By Christine Martinksy
Sometimes, the unlikeliest of experiences bring the greatest meaning to life. That was the case for 25-year-old Galen Sisco of Bethel Park. On a journey that Sisco thought he was embarking on to help others, he got more than he bargained for.

Not so long ago, Sisco found himself in a situation that is familiar to many. A recent college graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, Sisco struggled to pin down a steady job. After a string of frustrating events concerning employment, Sisco and his friend, Kevin Saftner, 25 from Hickory, began to think outside of the box.

“Kevin and I decided that we were unhappy working for ourselves and that if we wanted things to change and we wanted to be happy, we had to start working for other people who needed help,” Sisco said.

That’s when the concept for “Needed Change” was born. Sisco and Saftner decided that along with friend Drew Dayton, 26, Franklin, they would travel the United States, live among the homeless, and document their experience. Their hope was that through this, people would see the preconceived notions they had of the homeless community were false.

“Our goal for Needed Change was to raise awareness about homelessness and to get many people involved to help the cause,” Sisco said.

“We wanted to show that homeless people were not all drug addicts, or criminals, or bad people,” he added. In order to fully achieve this, the three lived as if they were homeless.

Leaving Pittsburgh on March 2, 2010, Sisco, Saftner, and Dayton begain their journey in Miami. The trio spent about five weeks in Miami, continued on to Charlotte, N.C., for eight days, New Orleans for eight days, and ended their trip with a week in New York City.

“We traveled to each city by car, but when we got to each city, we ditched or hid the car until we left that city because we did not want to have the advantages of an automobile, since most homeless do not,” Sisco said.

The three got a taste of how rough it can be in the streets. Each day brought the question of where they would eat and where they would get the money to eat. They were even robbed at one point, losing two laptops, two cameras, microphones, sound equipment, and personal possessions. Sisco estimates they lost between $5,000-$6,000 worth of equipment; equipment which was essential to the project.

After that incident, the three were as Sisco put it, “deflated, but not defeated.” Too determined to give up, the trio posted what happened to their website and fan page and immediately received responses from friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. Because of the kindness of those individuals, the three were able to carry on with their mission.

“Through those people, we were able to obtain enough equipment to continue filming. Right there, I knew this project meant something important. It was another one of those life-altering experiences. … Something at its core was meant to help people in a terrible situation,” Sisco said.

Even when the journey seemed to be complicated, it brought forth life-altering experiences that no one expected. While in Miami, the three met Raivis, a 22-year-old from Latvia. Raivis was living on the streets of Miami without any family or friends. That didn’t last long, as someone who was initially a stranger became a best friend. The three were so taken with Raivis’ story, they couldn’t help but spend time with him and help him any way they could.

“By the time we left Miami, Raivis was with us and he still lives with me to this day here in California. He’s become one of my best friends, along with all of our other circle of friends and is bartending, working in a restaurant kitchen, as well as doing home remodeling. It’s amazing to me to see him go from someone living on the streets making only $7 an hour passing out fliers for clubs and pool parties in Miami to a self-sustaining individual,” Sisco said.

Raivis wasn’t the only discovery Sisco made on his journey. Sisco met 35-year-old Nathan, who happens to be his long-lost half-brother. Prior to meeting, Sisco never had the opportunity to get into contact with his half-brother. However, Nathan tracked Sisco down through the group’s “Needed Change” Facebook fan page. The connection detoured the group, then with Raivis in tow, to New Orleans. There, they educated themselves further on the homeless stigma and met Nathan.

“Needless to say, meeting my brother was incredible,” Sisco said. We look the same, talk the same, share a plethora of piercings and tattoos, stand the same, have the same posture. …All of these things we shared and for 25 years, I never knew it,” Sisco said. “Don’t ever let anyone tell you Facebook is a waste of time,” he added.

For now, everything has slowed down with the project, with friend and editor Ed Ringer living across the country in San Francisco and working a full-time job.

“His work schedule is very demanding and we know that getting our project together is going to take some time, but since this was partly his idea and that he is doing it for free as well as on his own time, we are more than OK with that,” Sisco said.

For now, life has returned back to normal, but the trip will remain a memorable one.

“Embarking on this journey really helped our family bond in that it tied up some loose ends that needed to be,” Sisco said.

Partner Saftner is just as grateful for the journey.

“The culture shock was how caring most people were,” Saftner said.

“Most of them [the homeless] were good people who wanted more and just ran into a patch of bad luck,” Saftner said. “It wasn’t all drugs and losers, as people say,” according to Sattner. “There were people like that, but not the majority by any means,” Saftner said.

“Overall, it was a humbling experience that makes me appreciate the things I have, like family, a home, and food,” according to Saftner. “Not having the basic things we take for granted changes your life, changes your whole outlook forever, and I always will be able to appreciate that,” Saftner said.

By Collin Tokarsky
College students who are also members of the military face many interpersonal stresses, as well as a passel of issues while living the double life as a student and a veteran.

“There are about 35 in the ROTC program, and there are over 125 veterans on campus who have served either in Afghanistan or Iraq,” said Robert Prah, director of veteran’s affairs, for California University of Pennsylvania.

Living as a student as well as a veteran is hard on most people.

“It’s all based on the type of person, but in most cases, it’s not easy,” Prah said. “Reintegration and getting back into civilian life is tough sometimes. Additionally, going from a fast-paced environment to slowing down and going to college and just living that type of lifestyle is at a much slower pace than what they are used to,” he said.
Michael Michalsky, a freshman at Cal U, has served as a member of the Army.

“It is very stressful to have to study and deal with school when all I can think about is the time that I spent in Iraq,” he said.

Michalsky, 21, of Brownsville, served a tour in Iraq last year for five months.

“It was especially hard for me to be over there for that long,” he said. “My two brothers were in Afghanistan while I was in Iraq. My fiancé left me and that was a serious struggle that I had to go through,” Michalsky said. “It didn’t help either that from the day I got home I had to start the semester within a week.”

Another freshman at Cal U, Andre Sullivan, 21, of New Orleans, has served multiple tours to Iraq. Along with Michalsky, Sullivan also started his first semester of college last fall upon his return home from overseas.

“Coming and being a student in the civilian world was difficult at first,” Sullivan said. “I had to adjust from being on edge all the time to just relaxing. The lifestyle was a complete 180 for me,” he said.

For Sullivan, connecting with with family and friends was difficult not only while he was in Iraq but also since he’s been attending Cal.

“I started school right away when I came back from Iraq,” he said. “I moved right away to California, Pa., and started fresh in an unfamiliar place.

Veterans on campus tend to stay busy and interact with other students through various groups and organizations.

According to Prah, “Some of the struggles are consistency, such as a having a ‘normal’ life. Missing key events, such as a death in the family, is often tough,” Prah said, “You don’t see many who are ‘loners’. Finding the right organization and building relationships can further develop the person personally and professionally,” Prah said.

In the opinion of at least one civilian student, Nate Dixon, 21, of Pittsburgh, “They do great things by going overseas for our country, but at the same time, they are being thrown into a whole new world when they come back. I feel like they miss many important years of their life, too, like they skip out on growing up.”

New student housing is under construction on Second Street in California Borough. The new building is the multistory, mostly white building at right rear, across from the aging Green Street Hall.

By Greg Sobol
California University of Pennsylvania has been fortunate enough to enjoy exponential growth and progress in the past few years, but this growth hasn’t come headache-free. For most students, finding a place to live so they can enjoy the amenities of Cal U has proven to be a feat in recent years.

The campus, nestled in the borough of California, plays host to roughly 6,500 students daily, according to the Cal U website. That number is up from 10 years ago according to the largest off-campus landlord Vito Dentino, who manages roughly 250 units in the area, which accommodate around 550 students.

“We haven’t had a single vacancy in years. We’re completely booked every semester,” Dentino said.

As of this writing, Dentino’s properties are about 70 percent rented for the 2011-’12 school year, according to the Dentino agency. That number is expected to be 90 to 95 percent by the end of the semester, with the remaining units being leased throughout the summer according to Dentino.

“It’s a little slower-paced this year,” Dentino said. “In years past, we didn’t start really seeing properties go until right after spring break. Lately, it’s been starting as early as October or November,” he said.

Students agree that the competition for desirable apartments is growing more intense each year.

“I started looking, talking to friends who had places, and touring places way before Christmas break,” sophomore P.J. Samotus, 20, of Cranberry said.

“If you don’t start early, you get stuck somewhere crappy,” Samotus said. “I have friends who didn’t find a place until over the summer last year, and they’re stuck in one-bedroom apartments downtown.”

Dentino said one-bedroom apartments above businesses downtown always rent last, but even those are rented in full before Independence Day.

Dentino attributes one-bedroom apartments going last to the added costs and lack of all-important social interaction one has when living with a roommate.

It seems as though starting the search early and looking often really does pay off, as Dentino recalled having to turn several students away last August.

“One girl and her dad drove here all the way from New Jersey. She had been accepted to school, enrolled, paid her tuition and couldn’t find a place to live, not anywhere,” Dentino said. “She ended up giving up and returning home with her father.”

Shawn Urbine, the associate dean for residential facilities, said that only around eight to 12 students are turned away each year from the dormitories.

“I don’t like hearing stories of people not coming because they didn’t have a bed, but my hands are tied,” Urbine said. “There’s only so many rooms. It’s up to the student to get the forms in early before there’s a waiting list,” he said.

However, Urbine seems to think that Cal U has hit its peak in enrollment and housing may not be an issue much longer.

Several obstacles will affect enrollment, he said.

“We were the first to have suite-style dorms,” Urbine said. “Now, everyone has built them. Competition is getting stiff among schools as they forecast their future budgets. And the budget cuts will make everything more expensive so we will see enrollment really level off by 2012,” he said.

Cal U seems to be playing with a double-edged sword, balancing success with what some see as a major shortcoming in adequate housing. However, according to Dentino, off-campus projects due to be completed over the next five years will make housing easier to find.

“There’s a lot of projects in the works,” Dentino said. “There will be a day when there are empty units in this town.”

By Emily Martik Ten years ago, an illegal immigration crisis of epic proportions infected the nation’s vulnerable border zones, upsetting the agriculture industry and the domestic security of concerned citizens. Residents of the affected areas diligently attempted to curtail the invaders, but to no avail. Now, as the swarm sweeps into Southwestern Pennsylvania, locals despair of ever finding a way to control the invasion of the unwanted, virtually indestructible brown marmorated stink bug.

“They don’t die,” said Liz Bausher, 20, a junior computer information systems major at California University of Pennsylvania. A look of horror crossed her face as she recalled when a stink bug fell onto her head while she was taking a test for one of her classes.

Another victim of an entomological assault, Gianna Dino, 21, who is a junior elementary education major said, “One time, while I was in my friend’s car, I zipped open my purse and a stink bug crawled out.”

Stories of book bags full of stink bugs and of grown men and women cowering in fear were common on the Cal U campus last semester. In a recent poll of 50 students, 64 percent ranked their hatred of the insect as a 10 on a scale of one to 10; 31 percent of those students would have answered “11,” “one million,” “infinity,” or “hate with a passion,” they said, had the category been available.

This trend of revulsion is a result of the legion of stink bugs in the area, as well as their foreign presence in this part of the world. According to a story from the Associated Press in October 2001 by Dan Lewerenz, which appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the brown marmorated stink bug was accidently imported from China and its neighboring countries in the late 1990s and has since reproduced rapidly, creating swarm-like conditions in much of the state.

Brown marmorated stink bugs, Lewerenz wrote, are not known to bite humans or eat food from the pantry, but they are known in Asia to cause problems for farmers by feeding on tree fruits and vegetables.

“There are ramifications beyond the annoyance factor,” said Susan Ryan, a tourism and geography professor at Cal U. From a decrease in outdoor recreational activities to an increase in reservation cancelations at infested hotels, “stink bugs are having a major impact on the tourism industry in Pennsylvania,” she said.

Mark Hockley, 30, who is a certified arborist with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, agrees, saying that stink bugs are one of the most overlooked invasive insect problems in the Northeast.

“They do provide a benefit in assisting pollination,” Hockley said. “But the bad far outweighs the good. They have no natural predators, they could be aiding in the spread of harmful pathogens to trees, and they’re just a general nuisance,” he said.

Most devastating, though, is that stink bugs can be hard to kill with pesticides and the age-old “smush” method, as stated by Lewerenz’s article.

“I know a lot of ways to kill stink bugs; three involve duct tape,” said junior music and technology major Steve Ventura, 20, who took time to explain his involved methods of extermination. Drowning, burning, and death by duct tape (which is stuck to the back of the stink bug, then flipped over) are effective, if not morbid, solutions, but there are other ways.

“[My husband and I] have found Pinesol to be effective at keeping stink bugs away,” said Ryan, who recently researched and experimented with different methods of stink bug extermination. “My understanding is that they lay eggs on broad, leafy plants, and they don’t like evergreens; something about the scent deters them.”

She added that a mixture of dish washing soap and water, when sprayed on the stink bug, will clog the breathing passages of the insect and suffocate it.

“We can clean up baby seals with Dawn, and we can kill stink bugs with Dawn,” she said.

Yellow sticky traps, vacuum cleaners, and various mixtures such as garlic powder and water have also been cited as effective pest control devices by passionate members of the blogosphere, who have turned to home remedies in the absence of a definitive stink bug-killing method.

A more professional tool, the Rescue Stink Bug Trap, is set to be released this summer to combat the growing problem, according to a February article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Doug Oster. The pheromone trap will be effective up to 20 feet outdoors, and will retail for $19.95 when it hits the shelves in July.

Until that time, avid antagonists of the immigrant species will have to be creative in their methods of disposal. For more information and out-of-the-box ideas on how to repel and kill the marmorated stink bug, visit the following sites:

By Lacey GreeleyOf the many things that college students and young adults struggle with and juggle, sleep should not be one of them; although many young adults, more often than not, do. Between studying for exams, working jobs, and trying to have a life, many young adults are burning themselves out very quickly and most do not even realize what they are losing when they lose sleep and the risks that go along with it.

“Sleep is important, plain and simple,” says Lindsay Fraser Himes during a phone interview. Himes is a 27-year-old public health educator at Chester County Health Department.

Himes goes on to add, “While we sleep, our brain performs many functions. It is communicating tons of information, getting it all in order and storing it. It’s doing things for our body that we don’t realize, and for young people, both the body and the brain are still developing, which takes place after hours.”

Dr. John D. Massella, an assistant professor and clinician at the Wellness Center of California University of Pennsylvania, would agree. He says, “Young adults need quite a bit of sleep due to brain development still occurring, and when they don’t get it, it is at a cost to their body and to their emotional status.”

Dr. Massella added, “A lot of the students I see have difficulty sleeping, whether it be a secondary symptom to depression and other disorders or the main problem altogether. The thing is, no one has ever died from lack of sleep, but it can wear you out and that is what’s harmful,” he said.

According to Dr. Massella, students struggling with sleep sometimes make attempts to remedy the problem themselves. Some try sleep aids, alcohol, and illegal narcotics. But these remedies are not solutions to the problem and can lead to further destruction, such as substance abuse and dependency.

Sleep also has a large impact on health, says Harvard Magazine. Sleep deprivation has been linked to obesity, diabetes, immune-system dysfunction, and many other illnesses. And that’s not to mention car accidents, medical errors, and poor productivity and decision-making. Without adequate sleep, judgment, mood, and ability to learn and retain information are weakened.

Stephany Smearcheck, a 20-year-old business major at Cal U, says she gets about five hours of sleep on an average school night, not going to bed until around 2 to 3 a.m.

“Going to bed that late and then getting up so early is exhausting,” she said. “I’m tired all day and I feel like I’m running on empty constantly. But I feel like I never have enough time. And time doesn’t even exist for me on the weekends, since I hole up in my dark room and sleep pretty much all day.”

By the end of the school week, that’s pretty much all most college students want and need to do. Zachary Wood, a 19-year-old sophomore technology education major at Cal U, understands that.

“Because I get less than adequate sleep during the school week, I tend to oversleep on the weekends. And that causes my blood sugar to run higher than usual,” he said.

Wood was diagnosed with diabetes a little over a year ago and agrees that his lack of sleep does have a huge impact on his physical health, but he also remarks that it’s hard because not only does he have school five days a week, but he works, too.

Juggling school, work, and a social life on the cusp of adulthood is hard and it may seem as though there is never enough time. But for sleep, a college student must make time.

Himes says, “You might as well just work sleep into your schedule because if you don’t, it’ll work itself in. And it definitely won’t take into consideration your priorities. You’ll just crash.”

Sleeping Tips for the Sleep Deprived:

Make a sleep schedule.

Try to go to sleep and wake up around the same time every day. Be consistent.

Keep your room dark, cool, and comfortable.

Avoid distractions while trying to fall asleep, such as television or music.

The sweep of tomato shortages due to record low temperatures in the South cause business to decrease their usage.

By Ashleigh Haney
When you walk into many restaurants across the country, the many choices of the menu may not be the only thing you notice. Now, many restaurants are sporting another piece of paper, informing their customers that red fruits may be missing from their favorite sandwiches.

Due to one of the coldest winters the South has seen in decades, new measures are being taken to preserve the country’s tomato crop, even in our area. According to Florida’s Tomato Growers Exchange website, the state lost approximately 70 percent of its crops in January from the unusually low temperatures.

The wrath is now being felt nationwide, with many local and chain restaurants only adding the fruit to sandwiches when asked. Saunsare Davies, 30, general manager of the corporate Arby’s store in Uniontown, has only had the signs about the lack of tomatoes up for a few days.

Saunsare explained that the restaurant uses an abundance of tomatoes throughout its busy days.

“We usually put tomatoes on nine of our 24 advertised sandwiches and in our salads. Normally, we go through about 140 average size tomatoes a week,” she said. “I have also noticed a decrease in the quality of the tomatoes we receive.”

Davies said that even when the signs were up, stating that if customers would like tomatoes, they must request them, the customers’ demand for tomatoes didn’t help the conservation efforts.

“An overwhelming amount of people still wanted them on there,” Davies said.

Lexy Fordyce, 17, a frequent customer of the Uniontown store, said of the tomato shortage, “I really didn’t know that it was this bad.”

Many chain restaurants still display such signs, including Subway and Wendy’s.

Luckily, local farmers have seemed to escape the same fate. John Coulter, 59, a Fayette County farmer, explained that he hasn’t seen the same effects as down South. “I usually don’t plant my tomatoes until late April or early May, but there have been a few years when we’ve had late frosts and I can understand what they [Florida farmers] are going through,” he said.

The slightest frost can stunt any plant’s growth, Coulter explained, stopping the growth nearly immediately. The continued cold weather has not only halted the winter supply, but has been detrimental to the early products for the rest of the year.

Walking into a bakery gives a welcoming feeling to almost all who enter. And if the sweet smells aren’t enough, Cathy Urban, 63, of Cathy Urban’s Cookies and Pies in downtown California Borough, will make anyone feel at home.

Urban pulls a freshly done chocolate chip cookie order out of the oven for a customer and sets the warm tray on the counter. As she starts to scoop the plump cookies off the tray, she says, “I don’t make the skinny ones.”

And really, who wants the skinny cookies?

Urban retired from California University of Pennsylvania in January of 2008, after reaching the position of executive assistant to the provost. Her last two years at Cal were also spent working Saturday and Sunday nights whipping up made-to-order treats at the bakery she launched.

At 235 Wood Street, cinnamon buns are the star of the show, being the only delicacy that can be purchased daily without pre-order. All other food needs to be ordered ahead of time by calling or stopping by the bakery. Urban sells everything from cookies and pies to cakes and cupcakes.

Urban said she has always enjoyed baking. She used to give trays of cookies as gifts for Christmas. People started telling her that her cookies were as good, if not better, than the ones sold in stores. They questioned why she wasn’t selling them and Urban started to wonder the same thing.

Recently, Urban has started making meals-to-go for breakfast and lunch. Her menu showcases a changing meal selection per day. Customers can display their inner omnivore every Tuesday with a hot roast beef sandwich and potatoes with vegetables while customers practicing the tradition of Lent can choose homemade macaroni and cheese with baked fish every Friday. Breakfast orders of stuffed French toast with bacon and three kinds of pancakes can be picked up or delivered until 10:30 a.m. Urban also bakes the buns for Spuds restaurant in California Borough.

Urban’s recipe for success is one she has also applied to education and raising a family.

Urban is now retired from Cal, after 30 years of work, but the school has been a big part of her life. She went to Cal after her kids graduated and got not only a bachelors degree in liberal studies with a minor in psychology but even finished her master’s degree in regional planning.

“I’m an educated baker,” she said. Her two children, a son and a daughter, are also Cal graduates.

“I left with two children educated, myself educated and a love for the university and the students,” Urban said.

While Urban owns and runs the bakery, some extra hands are not turned down.

Urban’s friend, Mary Rhoads, of California, helps Urban at the shop from time to time. Rhoads is a veteran of the Gulf War and respects Urban’s commitment to going above and beyond when it comes to her customers.

“She will even come in on Sundays if you need to pick up your cake,” Rhoads said, “She goes out of her way.”

According to Urban, who was born and raised in Monongahela but has been a resident in California Borough for 41 years, patience and treating one’s customers with kindness is important. And if that doesn’t win them over, maybe the cinnamon buns will.

Isabelle Anderson, 78, at Hair We Are Salon, shows off her new hairstyle.

By Morgan CusheyIsabelle Anderson, 78, of California, sits in a chair at the Hair We Are Salon just chattering away as Jacquelyn Kallis, owner of the salon, begins to rinse the shampoo from Anderson’s hair. They reminisce about the time they met 22 years ago when Kallis’ daughter was a student in Anderson’s California Area School District class.

“Isabelle was a great teacher and Amy really seemed to enjoy the class,” Kallis said.

Anderson comes from a teaching family, following in her mother’s footsteps and earning a degree in teaching from California University of Pennsylvania. Not only inspired by her mother, she was also enticed by the convenience of the opportunity since her family lived in California Borough.

“The college was just right there, so I went for it,” she said with a soft chuckle.

While in college, Anderson worked at G.C Murphy Five and Dime Store. This was where her husband, Arnold, now 80, who was hurrying home Christmas Eve on leave from the Marine Corps, proposed to her over the counter. Her friends joked that he simply “bought the ring at one counter of the store and passed it to you at the next,” she said.

Anderson graduated from college and married Arnold, and they’ve been married for 57 years.

She also finished her degree in three years and began teaching first grade in the California School District.

After her first year teaching, Anderson became pregnant with her first daughter, Kathy, 55, who works as a media specialist in New Jersey. Soon, Anderson gave birth to daughters Cindy, 53, working as a speech therapist, and Christi, 51, who works as a nurse.

When she was rehired into the California School District, Anderson put her baby, Christi, and her two other daughters in the care of their grandparents while she worked teaching mainly first grade.

In 1983, Anderson was part of one of the longest teacher strikes to ever occur in Pennsylvania. At the time, the teachers did not make a very large salary, while they worked long hours with no lunch break or planning periods, Anderson said.

She described how she and her fellow faculty members picketed out in the bitter cold each day.

“It was just an awful, awful time,” Anderson said. The strike eventually ended, resulting in a higher salary, a lunch break, and one planning period. Anderson laughs as she explains this, saying, “All that work, for what may not even seem significant today.”

Anderson retired from her job as an elementary school teacher and enjoys her days spent with Arnold, who is retired from the Marine Corps. Anderson has been a lifelong resident of California, residing on Hillcrest Drive.

Anderson grew up in the borough with her three sisters, Shirley, Betty, and Mary, along with her brother James.

She smiles when she mentions James.

“The whole family was always so proud of him,” she said.He served in the Navy as an officer at the NAPS, Naval Academy Preparatory School, in Newport, R.I.

Her father, George Harris, was a carpenter, who developed the Harris Plan of homes in California Borough on Skyline Drive. Many people relocated there who had lived in the small town of Phillipsburg, where the New Science Building and River Lot now occupy part of the Cal U campus.

Elizabeth Gibson Harris, her mother, came from a family of miners and earned her teaching degree from Cal U in 1929.

When asked about her childhood, Anderson sighed and smiled as the hairdresser ran the comb through her gray hair.

“Well, I was a child in the Depression,” she said. “There was no television, no Internet; so my family was the entertainment.”

She recalls attending many picnics, such as the California Kennywood picnic and her local church picnic. On Sundays after church, her father would take the family for ice cream or the occasional day trip to a historical museum or monument.

Perhaps the largest event Anderson experienced in the borough as a child was the week-long 1949 Centennial Celebration. The festivities included a carnival, lots of ethnic foods, and also a beauty pageant.

Along with the centennial, Anderson also recalls attending, with her family, the Fourth of July fireworks that were held at Roadman Park each summer.

Anderson also told about the activities in which she now participates.

“I don’t have very much spare time,” Anderson said, laughing, as the stylist ran the blow dryer through her hair. In her retirement, Anderson has traveled to such places as Canada, Australia, and various areas in Europe.

She plans to go on a cruise in September with her husband. Anderson also enjoys doing crossword puzzles and even surfing the Internet when she has some leisure time.

When asked about her future plans, Anderson looked straight into the mirror, saying, “Nobody knows how much future they have left, so I’m going to stay active as long as I am able.”

She said she plans to continue living in the borough with her husband, while staying active with the California University alumni group and as clerk of session at her church. She plans to travel more and to also visit her three daughters at their respective homes, she said.

By Teri DiceRussell Johnson, 30, of Belle Vernon enjoyed cooking with his father when he was a child. Now, the two team up running the No Bull Bar-B-Q restaurant in Smock, which Johnson opened a year ago.

For Johnson, “Cooking side-by-side with my dad really gave me the interest I have in cooking.”

enlisted in the Navy, where he attended culinary school. While stationed on an aircraft carrier, he had to cook for thousands of hungry men every day, several times a day.

Once his world travels with the Navy were over, he bounced through an array of cooking jobs, including a stint at AVI Food Industries at California University of Pennsylvania. Finally, he decided he “wanted to work by [my] rules, make what [I] thought people would love,” he said.

It may seem that the restaurant business consumes a person, but thanks to Johnson’s father and other family and friends, he’s able to spend time hunting and participating in extreme water sports, such as whitewater rafting and kayaking. He also is a disc jockey for local bars and weddings. He says he plays anything from Top 40 to classic rock.

“It’s the audience that decides what they would like to hear,” he said about disc-jockeying.

Not only does he have time for himself, he has time for others. Johnson is the vice president of the charity organization, Unity: A Journey of Hope. Johnson said Unity is like “Make a Wish for adults.” It grants wishes for adults with life limiting illnesses. Some of the wishes are the smallest things, such as needing a new mattress or new wheelchair. But the organization even helped one woman meet Charlie Batch from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Johnson won the 2006 Renzle Park Cookoff Best Hot Sauce, Best Cooked Sandwich, and Best Overall Barbecue. He said his most memorable competition was when he won the 2006 Fayette County Fair Best Barbecue Overall.

What made the moment more special was that his dad was there to savor the moment.

“Being able to share that moment with him meant a lot,” Johnson said.

He said he especially enjoys the time he gets to spend with his dad once again in the kitchen.

“It’s nice to see him every day,” Johnson said. “We have normal family fights with some little business problems thrown in, but at the end of the day, we still love each other.”

Johnson said he hopes to keep moving forward, not only with his business but with the relationship he has with his dad.

By Jamie RiderWhen you look at Mary Immel, 50, of Uniontown you can immediately tell she’s a people person. She has a smile that is a mile wide and a twinkle in her eye that lets you know she’s someone you can relax around. Immel, an 18-year veteran of a call center in Uniontown, seems to be perfectly suited for her job as a customer service representative, taking calls for Bank of America.

Immel has held three customer service jobs.

“I love dealing with people, even if sometimes they can be a little difficult. It’s rewarding to be able to help people and possibly make them smile a little while I do so.” she said. “Helping people has always been really fulfilling.”

Immel is a Uniontown native who graduated in 1977 from Uniontown Area High School. Once she graduated, she started right into the workforce, deciding college wasn’t for her. She worked first as a bank teller.

She moved out of her parent’s house and into a small apartment with a co-worker in 1979. She also happened to meet her husband this way; it was her roommate’s brother. They met while he helped the young women move into the apartment.

“My roommate was all for the idea of me dating her brother. I was hesitant because I didn’t want it to put a strain on our friendship. But I guess it all turned out OK. We’ve been together ever since,” she said with a laugh.

Immel married her husband in 1985 and they moved into a small house. The birth of their son, Mark, five years later, made Immel re-think her career options. A year later, she left the bank after 14 years of service.

Her husband had been offered a manager position with his company and Immel was looking to spend more time at home. She decided to take a part-time job at the retail store JC Penny.

“I enjoyed dealing with people just as much at the store as I did working in the bank,” she said.

Immel’s former boss, Richard Workman, spoke about Immel’s time at the store.

“Mary was a wonderful employee,” he said. “Customers loved her and they often commended her on how polite and friendly she was. She was always willing to go the extra mile to make sure customers were satisfied.”

After two years, Immel wanted a change of pace, and a friend told her about an opening for customer service representatives for Bank of America through the company Teletech, located in the Uniontown Mall.

“I was uneasy on the first day,” she said “I was so used to face-to-face interactions with people. How could I possibly make a customer trust me with just my voice?”

She soon learned that she was born with that gift also.

“When dealing with people, you need to learn not to take things personally,” she said.

“Usually they’re more upset with the situation than you. It’s all about talking the person down and genuinely wanting to help them solve their problem,” Immel explained.

She takes her people skills beyond the workplace as well. She has acted as Girl Scout leader, a position she took when her nieice’s troop leader decided to quit.

“It was just a new way of dealing with people, albeit younger and more energetic people,” Immel said.

It was an adventure that taught her something new every day.

Whether she was working her day job, her job as a mom, or serving as a role model to young girls, Immel is a woman with many stories to tell and a positive outlook on life.

As for her future, Immel just wants to keep it simple.

“I plan on working in to my 60s and then retiring to live peacefully with my husband in the home we’ve created over the years,” she said.

She points to a painting of an Italian countryside hanging in her kitchen.

“I also wouldn’t mind traveling there and having a few more adventures and meeting new people,” she said.